Safety device for the triggers of firearms.



H. STEPHAN.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR THE TBIGGERS 0F FIREARMS.

APPLIOATION rmm my 20. 1908.

' 920,682. Patented May 4,1909.-

.fu'q'numu: biz-nu ca, unsmumu, n. c.

UNITE STATS FATE FFlQE.

HERMANN SJEPHAN, OF EBERSWALDE, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T0 CARL LENZ, ()F EBERSWALDE, GERMANY.

SAFETY DEVICE TEE TRIGGERS OF FIREARMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1909.

Application filed May 20, 1998. Serial No. 438,968.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, HERMANN STEPHAII, a subject of the German Emperor and King of Prussia, and a resident of Eberswalde, Germany, 23 hluel'ileustrasse, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices for the Triggers of Firearms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, elar, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art .to which it appertaius to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a safety device for the triggers of fire arms, in which a catch pivotally seated in the trigger guard is employed for holding the trigger in single barrel guns or the triggers in double barrel guns, so that they cannot be completely pulled. The catch is constructed so as to form a two armed lever. The locking arm of this lever is carried through the trigger guard and supports the free ends of the triggers in the posi tion of safety. The other arm of the locking lever which is under the action of a spring extends along the extension of the trigger guard and has a curvature adapted to the form of such extension.

The new safety device differs from those already known especially in that the effective parts of the device are arranged outside the stock and the trigger guard base plate. Hereby the disadvantages arising in connection with known safety devices are avoided viz., a weakening of the stock, the solidity of which is already reduced by the formation of the recesses necessary for the parts of the lock, besides a weakening of the trigger guard base plate already provided with openings for the reception of the triggers, as well as the parts of the lock inserted in the stock coming in contact with parts of the safety device whereby hitherto the action has been easily interfered with. The new safety trigger device can be easily and conveniently applied to all kinds of fire arms as well as to fire arms already completely made.

The arm of the locking lever that extends into the trigger guard has locking parts which engage with suitable locking parts in the triggers and are held in effective position by the action of the spring which presses against the free end of the lever. Hereby any automatic releasing action that might occur in consequence of concussions is prevented, while such may quite easily happen i with the devices hitherto employed if the triggers have easy play, as for example in fire arms with hair trigger locks. i he releasing of the triggers is effected when the took is grasped, by the part of the safety lever that is si uated in the extension of the trigger guard being pressed inward against the action of the spring, and the part that extends into the trigger guard turned over inward, so that the triggers are released and are then ready for the firing of the weapon.

Two forms of the invention are illustrated in the drawing. Figure 1 is a side elevation of the trigger l device with the locking lever in engagement, Fig. 2 is a similar view partly in section through the butt end, with the locking lever out of engagement. Fig. 3 illustrates a modification.

The locking lever a pivots around a pin 5 which is seated in the trigger guard c. In the example of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the part of the locking lever a that extends into the trigger guard c is furnished with teeth d, e which engage in indentations f, g in the triggers 7i, i under the action of a spring is which bears on the one hand against the free end of the locking lever a and on the other hand against the plate Z.

By means of the locking arm of the safety lever a that runs through the trigger guard c the triggers 71 i are propper and secured against bending or breaking. The securing of the triggers against bending is important, because the outward projecting parts of the triggers are frequently made of soft and only slightly hardened steel, and thus are not very strong, and unless a prop be employed, may be bent by coming in contact with thick branches or boughs when the person carrying the weapon is walking through woods. Hereby the shooting is rendered more difficult, as almost every person who uses a gun is accustomed to special features in his weapon and if there be any unsuspected alterations therein his skill in firing is diminished thereby. The breaking of the triggers in consequence of a blow or concussion When the person carrying the gun is walking in the woods or the like may easily occur if no prop be applied, because the upper parts of the triggers are frequently made of hardened steel, which is as hard as glass and consequently very brittle.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3 the free end of each trigger is furnished with a tooth m or n which engages in a boring 0 or p in the lever a when the latter is in the locking position. By means of this arrangement the triggers are secured against breal ing or lateral bending.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In a gun having a plurality or barrels and triggers therefor, the combination. with the triggers and the guard mounted upon the stock by means of a guard base-plate, of a two-armed lever pivotally mounted in said trigger guard. without the stock and guard plate, one end of said lever being adapted to engage the extreme ends oi the triggers.

in a gun having a plurality of barrels, with triggers therefor and guards for the triggers mounted upon the stock 01 the gun by a 1 trigger-guard base-plate; the combination with the triggers, of a double-armed lever pivotally mounted in said trigger guard and having both arms entirely without said stock and base-plate and means carried by one arm of said lever for engaging and supporting the triggers.

3. In a gun having a plurality of barrels with triggers and trigger-guard there'l'or the combination with the triggers provided with teeth on their outer extremities; of a double arm lever projecting through the trigger guard and pivoted therein; said lever being arranged wholly without the stock of the gun; a base-plate for the trigger guard mounted on the outside of the stool: between said stock and said double-arm lever; and a spring mounted on said base-plate and adapted to force the two arm lever into engagement with the triggers, the trigger-engaging end of said lever being provided with recesses therein for engaging the teeth on the ends of the triggers.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

Dated this 6th day ol May, 1908.

- HERM'ANN STEPIILLN. l i itnesses NOLDEMAR HAUP'r, HENRY HAsPEn. 

